I recently got an e-mail about emergency funds for writers.
I’m not going to lie, this irked me.
It irked me because as a writer, I know writers can work from home. In fact, with so many people quarantined to read books and watch television, things couldn’t be better for writers.
Meanwhile, the people truly affected by this insane over-the-top panic are the people who perform manual labor: the domestic workers, field laborers, mechanics, other personnel who cannot telework. Who don’t have the privilege to practice “social distancing.” I’m not saying manual-laborer-writers don’t exist, and I’m not saying that money-worthy emergencies never happen to writers like myself.
But I am saying as government-sanctioned panic destroys the world economy, pick carefully who you give your limited funds, and first support the people who need help the most. Be careful about “woe is me” attitudes from the rich (and in some ways we are all richer than we think). “Consider others’ needs above your own.”
So for today’s #superheroalert, I found a coronavirus care fund for domestic workers. I wanted to find a care fund for other manual laborers, like factory workers or field hands, so let me know, please, if you find such a thing and I will share it. We need targeted, realistic aid, like a sniper rifle, not spray and pray shotgun charity. In medicine, we learn to give specific treatments to people–a medication that works for one person might cause a side effect in another. That’s the principle that works in life, too: individualized solutions, not mass action. Not mass, everybody gets money, but instead focused money to the guys who can’t do without. Not mass quarantine, but focused care for the most vulnerable (the old). Don’t believe me? Look at Japan, where everyone is still working. Wonder why?
Focused solutions, not blanket rules.
So let me know if you find other focused ideas we can all help with.
MONEYWISE, you can take advantage of the quarantines by making money selling books on social media! Anyone can sign up for my affiliate program through Gumroad, and I’ll give you a special link that tracks your sales. You sell my books, you can get 50 percent profit on each sale. Let me know if that’s something you want–just get on my e-mail list to the right here and reply to the first e-mail you get.
